dan balz, thank you for helping us remember him. you can join us again next sunday morning for another critical look at theedia. "state of the union with candy crowley" begins right now. candy will have an update on japan, the japanese ambassador to the united states will be among her guests. the known death toll in japan's earthquake tsunami disaster is now over 1,200. the government official believes more than 10,000 people may have died in one region alone. and this morning, the possibility of meltdowns in two nuclear reactors. the japanese government believes there could be a second hydrogen explosion similar to one yesterday building another housing reactor. 200,000 people have been evacuated. at least nine tested positive

and health authorities are already distributing iodine tablets as an antidote to radiation. public broadcasting in japan told evacuees to close doors and windows, put a wet towel over their nose and mouth and cover up. this morning the prime minister announced rolling power outages throughout the country and called this japan's most difficult moment since world war ii. today catastrophe in japan. the latest from ambassador ichiro fujsaki. an expert's take on the nuclear hazard with physicist james acton and lessons for america with former fema director james lee wit. the next budget deadline, senator jon kyl, congressman mccarthy and democratic leader dick durbin. i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." for the latest in japan i'm joined in washington by ichiro fujsaki, japanese ambassador to

the united states. mr. ambassador, thank you for being here. i know such a difficult time for your country. >> thank you very much for having me. >> give us the latest on these two very troublesome nuclear reactors. when do you know about what is happening? >> you are talking about two nuclear reactor sites, number one and number two. we have six reactors which we are now coping with. and two of them out of -- we are putting water in order to cool down. >> sea watder. >> sea water. we are trying to take out vapor through filter to -- relax the pressure in the con an opportunity -- container. we are coping with those issues. >> some of the experts we talked

to say -- using the sea water to cool it really is a last resort. that this does signal that there -- that you are nearing the point of where this could be, again, catastrophic. already catastrophic things happening. how worried is the japanese government at this point there is going to be or that there may be under way a meltdown? >> the japanese government is very seriously coping with this issue because this is a very important issue. and two major steps. one is to order all the people within radius of 20 kilometers or 10 kilometers to get out of that area. that's one. second is to cope with the issue itself. as you say, putting water and -- also try to take out vapor. it is a different measure, different reactors. as for the sea water, yes, for

the reactor itself, it is better to put in clearwater. but we do not have enough supply of clear water there. so we are putting in sea water. >> not necessarily a sign that things are dire as a sign that you don't have the kind of water you would like to use? >> we do not -- if there's clear water, it would be better for reactor itself. in order to cool down sea water would have the same effect as clear water. the effect -- we are trying to get is trying to get the reactor to cool down. >> what is the level of concerning? does the japanese government feel that there is a very real possibility of a meltdown? do they believe that there is a very real possibility there will be a second explosion in the second reactor? >> first ask for -- as for the explosion you said, there was an

explosion. and in the first reactor. but it was not -- reactor nor container. it was in an outer building. and -- it didn't have any -- radioactive material getting out of the container or reactor. i have to emphasize that part. as for the meltdown, yes, there could have been a default of part of fuel report partly because that melted as well. it was not a sizable core reactor. which you would call it a

meltdown generally. so -- it is not that situation. >> what are your plans to keep people safe if there is a larger or proves to be more radiation going into the atmosphere? >> as i have said, two measures are now taken in order to cope with the situation directly so that it will not lead to more serious situation. and the other is to take a precaution to ask people to be out of that region. so these -- measures will continue to be taken. >> there are some reports out there that suggest that the warning of the tsunami did not come soon enough to make a difference. has the japanese government begun to look at whether the warning system went off as it should have? >> the warning system of a tsunami -- i have to say, in japan, is -- better than any country.

however, of course, there can always be an improvement and you always have to look at the improvements. but we have been helping other countries to build the -- tsunami alarm system as well and what is -- today, i think that there are -- almost very few possibilities that another tsunami is coming. but still there's -- aftershock. we have felt one only a few hours ago. so we have to be always very careful about this. >> tell me about the kind of response that you have gotten globally to this. >> we are very gratified that people who are -- around the world, so many done trees and regions and international organizations are extending hands to japan. sawing that this is no only japan problem. they will be helping -- this is

a challenge to international communities as a whole. sending rescue teams with dogs and, for example, the united states, they are sending aircraft carriers and other naval ships there and helping to lift emergency food to those who are -- suffering from the situation and we are very grateful that -- a lot of international organizations or ngos are helping us, red cross is -- u.s. red cross is extending their hand. if the american people would like to help us please get in touch with those red cross and ngos and we are very gratified for that. >> thank you so much, mr. ambassador. we wish you luck in the days ahead. up next, a nuclear power expert gives us his take on fears of a partial meltdown in japan. ♪ punching that clock from dusk till dawn ♪ ♪ countin' the days till friday night ♪

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joyngs me, james acton, physicist. can you decipher this for us? what's happening with these two nuclear reactors? >> candy about 24, maybe a few more hours ago than that, they started pumping sea watt near the core of the first of the reactors. you only do that if you basically decided to write off the reactor anyway. >> because it rusts it out and no longer useful. >> correct. you are only going to do that if you are seriously worried about the possibility of suggest core melting. overnight they then started a similar procedure in reactor three. what is suggest about unit three is unit three was not a reactor on the -- on the critical list as it were. the cooling systems appeared to

be working perfectly well. then at some point for reasons that weigh don't full will you understand, the cooling system that was being used stop working and backup failed to kick in. so -- as a last resort in that case, they had to start putting sea water in. what's worrying about this, we knew they had problems supplying the pumps with electricity. it now appears there may have been some actual damage to the pumping systems or perhaps the electrical components that control the -- caused by the earthquake or by the tsunami. >> what's the -- i mean, can you give us a probability? if you look at it, you are the ambassador and said you know, we doing everything we can. obviously they want -- things are under control and there isn't a meltdown. what's the probability of a meltdown under the circumstances you now see? >> well, there's not nearly enough information in the public to -- to put numbers on any of this. let me make two points. firstly meltdown is an unhelpful word. there's actually a huge spectrum

of possibilities. we have seen the japanese authorities already acknowledged there has been some partial melting of the core. which is the better end of this bad spectrum. a whole specter of possibilities. melting of the core might release substantial amounts of radioactivity into the environment. but it does not necessarily do so. the three mile island accident, there was a very large degree of core melting. actually remarkably little quantity of radiation released into the environment. both significant uncertainty about what's going on at the moment and significant uncertainty about the possibility outcome. >> bottom line is it could be controllable and not as bad as the -- term meltdown might sound or it could be pretty catastrophic. we don't know what range this is in. >> that's right. i mean -- when you say catastrophe, i think what immediately comes to mind is chernobyl and that's a very unhelpful thing to people's

minds. we are almost -- almost inconceivable we would have major explosion to the reactor. that worst case outcome is unbelievably unlikely in this case. >> can you tell from -- i mean, look, this is a country that suffered first an earthquake and then a tsunami. now is having all these aftershocks that are quite large. the question is -- it seems like the -- pumping system has failed in more than two actually but in these two in particular, so did it fail because the system doesn't work or did it fail because this -- there's just some things that a reactor can't handle and, you know, huge earthquake is one of them? >> well, you know, there will be major investigation to uncover exactly what -- what went on. but let me say this. the japanese authorities takes safety incredibly seriously. i have no doubt whatsoever that this reactor was capable of withstanding whatever size of earthquake they designated it ought to withstand.

i suspect what the investigation will reveal was that it was than designed to withstand the size of a squawk a that actually took place. >> so in the end, you know, your imagination has -- when you are building these things, has to be larger than, you know capabilities. >> one of the problems they had because she was -- in 2007, designed it to withstand a certain size of earthquake. the actual shaking as it were, at some point was almost twice the designed limit. on that occasion safety systems kicked in and reactor was -- the reactors were cooling relatively quickly without problem. this unbelievably catastrophic event, not just the largest earthquake in the history but a huge tsunami, clearly overwhelmed many of the safety systems at the reactor. >> thank you so much for joining us. we will be right back. [ thunder rumbles ]

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. the magnitude of this quake is hard to comprehend. a u.s. geological survey scientist told cnn that the quake moved the main island of japan eight feet and shifted the earth on its axis nearly four inches. here to discuss how countries like japan can manage natural disasters james lee witt, former fema director and now ceo of a crisis management firm that worked on the reconstruction after the indian ocean tsunami. thank you for joining us. right now in japan, the essential work is about trying to find people. what are they up against and what are you -- what are they

worried about at this point? you have to guess it is running out of time. >> well, first 72 hours is really important. of course, the search and rescue teams in there now and -- the japanese mull tier and american military, those teams going in there with the dogs and the biggest concern is debris. and also buildings that have partial will you collapsed. the safety of those teams, you know, they have -- engineers with them. and they will be looking at that as well. but also trying to get as many people out that they can when they find them. >> we are told over and over again that japan, there's no country on earth that exceeds japan in its preparedness for earthquakes because they have so many of them. but as well for emergencies. and yet we look and we are looking at some devastating numbers here. what is the lesson? is it that you cannot prepare for anything this big? or is it that japan was not

quite there in terms of preparedness? what's your take? >> well, you know, after the kobe earthquake, president clinton sent me over there. what happens, the japanese government has some of the stringent codes -- squawk seismic codes as anyone. but the thing of it is in japan as well as the united states, we inherited a traditional stock of buildings that were built before the new seismic codes and getting nose buildings retrofitted to meet life safety is very important. they have buildings as well as we do that are not up to the type of code they need to be. >> then let me bring you here to the u.s. because i think that in general, the american people look at what's happening in japan and it seems like something that could happen to japan but not something that could happen in the u.s. such a huge magnitude. what are the possibilities here in the u.s.? i know some of this must have kept you up late at night as

fema director. >> yes, it did. in the united states, particularly california, oregon and washington state, and even in arkansas, and even in a city of new york has earthquake problems. in 1811, 1812, you know, in arkansas we had an 8.0 earthquake. it rang the bells in the churches in boston. and right now we found a new fault in arkansas that just reese emily had a 5.8. they are having like -- hundreds a day of smaller quakes. and that fault line is getting bigger. it was an unknown fault line and -- but -- we wouldn't have the tsunami possibility unless it is on the west coast and it is out in the ocean which could create one. in japan and here, they also have all of the warning systems, buoys out there, that would identify a tsunami very quickly.

and they could evacuate. but in japan right now, that's massive debris and destruction and it is going to talk a while. >> do you think -- are you confident that should there be -- i think a lot of people believe it at some point will lead to a big earthquake. are we ready snr are the buildings secure? what's the potential? what are we learning in japan that applies here? >> well, the -- back when i was director in arkansas for president clinton, then governor, we passed legislation for seismic building codes in arkansas. and one of the most important things was to build the bridges that would be earthquake resistant. but we still have an awful lot of buildings that were built before the codes were put in place. and so that does concern me a great deal. schools, you know, older buildings, public buildings,

that were built out of concrete blocks. and, you know, they would be in danger. >> james lee witt, thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. up next, we will go to japan for the latest on the search and rescue effort. we're america's natural gas. and here's what we did today in homes all across america: we created the electricity that powered the alarm clocks and brewed the coffee. we heated the bathwater and gave kelly a cleaner ride to school.

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joining us from sendai,

jap japan, kyunglah. . >> reporter: this is still very early hours, the emergency is still very much a certain much and rescue operation. >> military helicopters continue the search for the living and tsunami ravaged city of sendai. two days into the does aster in this one residential area, rescuers are still pulling the injured to safety. a silver gurney lifts a survivor. but increasingly, the found are the dead. search crews pull a body from the water, someone that drowned in a car. another body lies under this tarp. the large number of military and search crews finding more dead and fewer living victims as the hours pass. frightening beyond belief, says this man.

i have no words. otomo's mother and uncle are missing and feared dead. they were both home as the tsunami came. he and his father now waiting for word. witnesses here say the first tsunami wave was as high as the top of the tree line. tossing cars like toys into piles. blasting out windows, crushing homes or sweeping them away completely. this flooded area once had a row of houses. now gone. the force of the tsunami flipped this truck completely upside down. it landed here at this elementary school, wheels up. this cool is quite a bit inland. but really start to see the signs of this tsunami. you can see how high the water and the debris line here is. especially against the white wall of the school. and the power of the tsunami, the doors of this school are completely blown off. and look down the hallway. that's a car.

450 students, teachers and workers were in the school when the tsunami warning came. many managed to escape. but the japanese military says they pulled bodies from the school. the residents started returning home but only briefly. then carrying out what they could to evacuation centers. they face challenges on dry land. little gas, long lines wrapped around the few stations open. and even longer lines of people several blocks long at food and water distribution centers. a waiting game on multiple fronts for these tsunami survivors. gone style enfor the evening. they are not able to eyeball anything while it is so dark. choppers will take to the air again. we are still in those early hours hoping for more survivors. even talking to people who are here, the people trying to find

the relatives, candy, you can see that the hope is starting to fade even in their eyes. >> the saddest times. the hours when you still have hope but hope is fading. thank you so much. we appreciate it. joining me now, cnn's gary tuchman, who is in sendai. i know had you time to wander around the countryside. tell me about that experience. >> reporter: candy, it was just an extraordinary and very sad experience. we drove from the west coast of northern japan by the sea of japan to the east coast, pacific ocean. about four, five-hour drive. all the problems. and one thing that was striking, so many disasters over the years and so many -- you know, hurricanes and earthquakes, you see so much damage. you don't see very much damage until you got right to the coast. literally four miles from the pacific ocean, no damage. then we got three miles to the pacific ocean.

and that town was completely decimated. it just looked like this huge body of water which is indeed what happened, the tsunami destroyed the town. there's nothing left. the population of the town was 20,000. there are about 9,000 people mussing. we can't presume all of these people died or all these people were injured. so many people went to relatives houses. we know a lot of people died because we saw their bodies. it is so dad and tragic. cars and trees and -- and trailers and trees and houses, you see what was in the houses. the houses are completely blown away and gone. it wasn't from the quake. it was from the tsunami. the waters from the tsunami stopped at the town limits and there is no damage past it. >> did you see people in or you a round this space where the town used to be? >> reporter: what they were doing, what they were allowing residents to go back in. not only to see where their properties were but there was a shelter there also.

a school where people who lived in the town were getting meals. but at one point the sirens started going off. they told everyone, including members of the news media, to leave. i asked why. they said because we have the possibility of another tsunami coming. weigh know that's not the case. the national international -- that monitor this say there was no tsunami warning. there is a lot of anxiety and creating their own warnings for unknown reasons that haven't been explained to us but told everyone they had to leave and had these sirens and alarms going off to make the people leave. >> are there -- are you feeling tremors? i mean, what's the -- what is it like in general? >> reporter: you know, we experienced this a lot in haiti a year ago. every day you feel the aftershocks. it causes intense anxiety and people are so afraid to go in their houses and people whose houses weren't damaged because they are afraid the aftershocks had come and made the houses collapse. indeed that's what happened. initial days after the earthquake in haiti. and that's the fear here.

you know, historically almost never is there an aftershock that is stronger than the initial earthquake. that's the good news. this swak was 8.9. strongest earthquake in japanese recorded history. so you can have a weaker aftershockin and deed you have had aftershocks over 7.0 so far. over 6.0 and could cause immense damage. that only -- not only is there possibility you could have more damage but also the intense anxiety here in japan because you keep feeling the aftershocks each day and you probably will for quite a while to come. >> we see a lot of reports about food shortages and watt water shortages. you talked about a school where people were going to get food and presumably water as well. how is that getting there? >> reporter: well, yes. i mean -- listen, in tokyo, which is -- one of the largest in the world, plenty of water. in northern japan, i was telling you about our drive from the west to the east where we didn't see much damage. we also didn't see much food or water.

we couldn't find water in one store in our four-hour drive. most of the food was gone from the shelf. the gas stations were all closed except for a couple that we saw which had lines -- like 1979 all over again in the united states. more than 100 cars in line waiting for the gasoline. yes. there is food in other parts of the done zpri being brought up to shelters and to people that need it. it is very hard for the average person right now to get the essential supplies of bread and water. >> gary tuchman. this bodes not well for the weeks ahead for those who were lucky enough to survive this. thank you so much, gary, from sendai. we appreciate it. >> reporter: thank you. up next, we will check in with brian todd who is traveling with the first international search and rescue team to reach japan.

we have now cnn's brian todd. he is at the air base in japan. i understand you are with the first international rescue team

to arrive there in japan. smart? >> reporter: that's right. we are with search and rescue teams from fairfax county, virginia, l.a. county. these are teams that have done this kind of work before. they have been in haiti and new zealand. turkey. other places where there have been massive earthquakes. and they have unique capabilities. we are getting ready to push into the kwauk zone in the coming hours. >> i was surprised to find out that very often with the rescue teams they travel with an engineer because they are looking at really dangerous work here. >> reporter: it is very dangerous work. they go into -- they have to go into applauses that are very unstable if not completely collapsed. go into the rubble to pull people out. they use k-9 teams. the dogs are highly trained to smell people who are surviving inside rubble. they lower listening devices in. they go in with heavy jack hammers. it is very dangerous work. >> how are these teams put

together in the u.s.? i know the fairfax team -- because it is local here in washington -- goes to any number of these international does as terse. what do they do? are these like -- pull from firemen and doctors? you mean, who all is on this team? what's their expertise? >> reporter: the majority of them are fire fighters. there are doctors on the team. there are swiss water rescue experts. they brought at least four inflatable boats for swift water rescues. these are people in the d.c. area, fairfax team, they are very well experienced at plucking people out of the potomac river when the rapids are very rough there. they brought them along as well. knowing that there could be some very severe floodwaters and residual effects from the tsunami. >> and essentially they are going someplace that has nothing. so they pretty much have to bring everything with them. is that right? >> reporter: they do. this massive logistical -- they have to set up a base cam and

bring all the supplies. the gas, generator. and everything they need. they set up tents. and they are -- they are able to sustain themselves for several weeks. in an area that has nothing. so they don't -- self-contained. it has taken this long to get here and get going. but they had to come from halfway around the world and take a lot of supplies with them. >> they have done a lot of this. they know how long it has been since the quake. i know that so many of these people get into this line of business, if you will, because they really want to save people. but we are now sort of passing that golden hour. what's the expectation there with that team? >> reporter: well, they tell you that -- the passing of the time, that they do go into this really thug they can save lives. haiti, one of the people -- to haiti, 40 hours after the quake

happened. they were still able to save more than 15 people. in pockets of rubble that survived. those are the people they will be going after. >> cnn's brian todd at misawa air base. thanks so much and we will check back in with you. >> thanks, candy. >> joining us now is elise labat, senior state department producer. elise, i was struck listening to brian because we went into it saying the first international rescue team just arrived. you think, wait, the earthquake was a while back. i mean, it seems like early friday morning, around there when we were first hearing about it. i think that you watch these -- this video, someone needs to go get those people. what takes so long? >> candy, the truth of the matter is that in these first few days of the disasters, no matter how much resources you have, no matter how many people you are going to throw at this issue, the japanese are very well trained themselves. it is never going to look pretty

in the first few days when you have so much going on, chaos, destruction. it is never going to be fast enough for anybody. they need to do this methodically and work with the japanese, the u.s. wants to get their marching orders from the japanese. er in in the lead. where do you need us? where do we want to go? the u.s. doesn't want to just throw resources at all of these things. and see that they are hurting the japanese effort. it needs to take a few days to shake out and then there is a really well-oiled system that takes shape. >> so we were talking today with the ambassador who i think said 70 countries offered help. does it all go through ones that in a central spot in japan? they fan out? >> well, all of the u.s. assistance is being coordinated out of this air base. the japanese are in the lead. they have officials working with all of these countries. they have officials working with auflt aide groups. then this is the way it happens in this methodical way otherwise just even more chaos and that's the last thing people need. >> in terms of the u.s. of the

u.s. military, those are always -- as we know under u.s. command. u.s. troops really. when they are not on u.s. command. but who decides what troops go? is it a matter of what they are trained for? they say okay, we need -- you know, sea rescue. is that how that works? >> right. the japanese will say we need search and rescue. u.s. as we know the whole seven fleet has been rallied. they have all this airlift and helicopters that are -- military even though they are doing this in afghanistan and iraq, they are trained to do this in the disaster. when they hear what they need the u.s. has so many assets being deployed and on the way to japan. the u.s. will say we have this type of troop, this type of helicopter. then the japanese will say tell them to go. >> we have breaking news about the spokesman at the state department, p.j. crowley, suddenly leave. >> he made some comment it is other day about manning, the person -- soldier that was

responsible for allegedly leaking these wikileaks to julian assange. he talked about the treatment by the military, counterproductive, it was stupid. everybody took a pause and said hey, what's going on here? the truth of the matter is that p.c. crowley -- there has been some faulk about the fact he would leave for some time. he never really gelled with the secretary clinton's team. he wasn't really seen as an insider and so in the last few months, they brought in mike hammer who was the national security council spokesman. now he will be -- he was the -- principal deputy of p.j. crowley. assumption is he will move in as the spokesman and some people think that he made these comments knowing that his days were numbered and that this way he could set himself up for a post-state department career. we have seen a lot of him on twitter. i think we will see him outspoken now that we hear he is leave. >> we usually do when people leave an administration. thank you so much. safe travels. you are off with hillary

clinton. >> thank you. up next the latest on the nuclear crisis in japan and potential fallout. safe driver, online, homeowner's -- more discounts than ever before. and they still get great service. ♪ ow! [ disco music plays ] ♪ whoa, yeah is it just me, or is it getting funky in here, huh? get your groove on, y'all! catch you on the flip side! i'd tell him the sign's not finished, but it would just break his funky little heart. more discounts, more ways to save. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

joining us now is homeland security correspondent jeanne meserve. the news riveted our attention because it seems to me no one -- not even the japanese know what's going on inside -- >> that's right. because they had so much damage. radiation is high. it is difficult for them to get the full picture of what's happening. what is clear that this is an expanding issue. yesterday we were talking about one reactor at the plant that appeared to be problematic. now there is a second one there. a totally different plant where the japanese say they are seeing higher radiation levelings.

we were talking on about the daini plant. daiich si the key one this that's what they are worried there. >> i know talked to u.s. officials who are steeped in knowing how this all works. are they look at a worst case scenario or are they thinking -- it might not be as bad -- we had an expert on earlier that said this does not have to be a meltdown in the sense that, you know, sort of horror sense. >> u.s. officials are saying very, very little about this situation. they really want the japanese to be taking the lead on all of this. but i have talked to some people around the fringes and outside of government. one thing they are saying is that, you no, people are raising the specter of chernobyl. they are saying wait a minute, this is a different plant with different design. they do not think even if there were a catastrophic meltdown here it would have the same sort

of massive radio logical release you saw in chernobyl back in a couple of decades ago. >> one of the things that -- i think is interesting here -- in talking about this earlier is -- is this a result or -- do any of the people you are talking to have any idea whether this is the result of backup systems that are -- shut down systems that did not work or just something, you know, two huge disasters at the same time that -- no nuclear facility could withstand. >> what i heard over and over again, that the japanese are amongst those who are most vigilant about nuclear safety in that they did have systems in place. first the earthquake. shut down the plants. that was supposed to happen but it cut off the power into the plants. that meant the diesel engines which were the backup system for running the cooling on the reactor and were knocked out by the flooding of the tsunami. that's what they think happened. and then they went to these battery systems which as you know have been running low on juice. they had to bring in more batteries to keep them going. so there was not only a backup

system there was a backup to the backup. but even that is short term. that's why they have gone to this very desperate measure of pumping in the sea water. >> cnn homeland security reporter jeanne meserve. we want to talk a little bit, p.j., about what would happen -- we know that there are some -- there's radiation in the area. what happens to that and how does the weather affect that? >> excellent question, candy. the weather, of course will play a large role as far as what is concerned out there with the winds. past couple of days we had the winds coming in on offshore component pushing a lot of the radioactive materials offshore. winds going to reverse here as the storm system comes in that we will talk about moment tearily and the concern is that will be onshore component. a lot of the radioactive material certainly could work its way towards some of the population sources. just take a look at the aftershocks that have come in the past couple of days.

absolutely remarkable. we had one aftershock in the immediate wake of the 8.9. between the 6 and 6.9, how about 28? respectable earthquake in and of itself. 28 quakes within in a magnitude. that's comparable to the february 2011 quake in christ church, new zealand. you can count up to 300 over the past couple of days. absolutely devastating. taking place what's going on out there and with the earth's axis, talk the earth's axis has shifted because of the large magnitude associated with this quake from japan. shook it eight feet as far as japan is concerned. comparable to what happened over in chile. but now the weather setup, we are talking about the clouds now coming in and showers associated with it. and quickly want to show you photographs of the before and after coming out of the area. in and around sendai. this next door, a city out there, pictures taken in april of 2010. water comes in. there it goes. we are seeing the decimation

left in place. very, very eerie, of course, of what's been happening out there. that leaves plenty of folks exposed. temporary housing folks out there staying in shelters that are perhaps susceptible to the elements. this is what we were discussing with high pressure getting in the warmer southerly flow the last couple of day. weather had been tranquil. another storm system comes in from the south and now -- i'm here with the storm system, counterclockwise circulation is going to give you a northerly or northwesterly wind. what's that all mean? that northerly wind is going to persia lot of the radioactive materials potentially back towards some of the population sources? with that it is not just the concern. rain in the forecast. very cold temperatures in the forecast. lot of the buildings have received substantial damage. gusty winds certainly being a concern out there over the next couple of day. once the storm system exits, in the wake of a perhaps few snow showers as the temperatures begin to cool off, on satellite imagery, you can certainly tell

here comes some of the cloud elms, explosive across the sea of japan. cold temperatures fall across portions of japan and that's when we see the concerns as far as the winds shifting of the storm system entering the picture out there. >> thanks so much, p.j. not even a break for japan in that weather forecast. we appreciate it. we are now going to bring you some extraordinary footage when the initial warning was sounded in japan right after this. m tird of shopping around. [ sigh ] too bad you're not buying car insurance. like that's easy. oh, it is. progressive direct showed me their rates and the rates of their competitors. i saved hundreds when switching. we could use hundreds. yeah. wake up and smell the savings. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive.

it can take a while for tv footage find its way back from the scene. the footage that riveted the world's attention this time in japan was shot after the tsunami had built up its full force and was moving across the land. a few minutes after the sounding of the warnings and initial wall of water. a reporter from nhk television was inn sendai when the warning sounded before anyone saw the tsunami and he captured those first few moments. >> anyone near the coast must evacuate to higher ground immediately. >> reporter: at 3:00 p.m. friday afternoon, the city hall issued the tsunami warning. residents quickly evacuated their homes looking for higher ground. these people managed to get to this hilltop, mothers held on

tightly to their children. they listened anxiously to the radio for more information. >> water is flowing into the port. it is now flowing over the barriers into the community. >> reporter: 3:11, massive tsunami swept through the city. >> those buildings would all be wiped away.